Shopping with Sales Cycles

Regardless of if you use coupons or not, everyone should be aware of sales cycles. Just about every item that you can find in a grocery or drug store has a sales cycle. During this cycle an item’s price will fluctuate from its high point all the way down to its rock-bottom price. Sales cycles typically last around 6-8 weeks depending on the item that you are purchasing and your geographical location.

The difference in price between an item’s high and low point can be as much as 50% or more. In order to maximize savings at the store, shoppers should be aware of generally which point an item is in its sales cycle. Of course this would be a very difficult thing to do for every single item in the store, so I suggest starting with just the 10-15 items that you purchase the most. Maybe for you most of the items are meat or fresh produce, or maybe you buy a lot of cereal or cleaning products. Once you select the items that you want to track, keep a list with you when you go to the store and fill in the price of the item.

Once you are able to identify where an item is in its cycle, you will know when it is smart to purchase the item. When you do, make sure to stock up enough to get you through to the next time the product hits its low point in the price cycle. If you are not sure how to start a stockpile, make sure to check out my post on “How to Start a Stockpile” to get going!

This post is part of the Bargain Blessings Savings Pledge series. If you have not already made your savings pledge, please do so and follow along with this series for lots more tips on how you can meet that pledge. Below is a list of the topics that I have covered so far. If you have any suggestions on future topics please e-mail me or leave it in the comments section.